White Fang

扎迪·史密斯 / 周丹Shanghai Translation Publishing House · ChinaJun 2022

Rating 4.1
Word count
319K words
Chapters
26
ISBN
9787532788866

Tags

Foreign Literature Social ObservationImmigrant LifePortrait GalleryFamily EntanglementsIdentity ConstructionHumorous SatireTurn of the CenturyNorth LondonMultiethnic SocietyCross-Cultural View

Summary

At the turn of the century in North London, people's surnames and given names blur their origins, woven into a tangled, intricate web. Archie Jones, a white man middle-aged, divorced, and a failed suicide, marries by sheer accident a young Jamaican Black woman, while his Bangladeshi friend Samad, whom he met during World War II, also settles in London with his wife.

Archie drifts through life, deciding everything by the toss of a coin; Samad, born to privilege, ends up a waiter in a small restaurant. As their children grow, personal crises of faith become the unrealized expectations of their fathers, and generational clashes, the bewilderment and rage of displaced identity, and the collisions and conflicts born of different cultural backgrounds gradually concentrate in this corner of northwest London, finally erupting on New Year's Eve into an uproarious mishap...

The meeting of East and West unsettles where individuals come from, sweeping up the fates of generations and writing the desires and fears that belong uniquely to our time.

Editor's review

White Teeth is Zadie Smith's debut novel, the astonishing work that made her name at twenty-three and won numerous literary awards. With a grand vision and keen observation, the novel depicts the intertwined fates and identity struggles of two families across three generations against the backdrop of multicultural late twentieth-century London. In vigorous prose, Smith weaves issues of race, religion, history, and science into everyday narrative, revealing both the struggles and searches of immigrant descendants and the complex relationship between the individual and tradition in modern society.

The book's value lies in its rich social observation and profound humanistic concern. Smith does not simply present cultural conflict; with a tone that combines humor and compassion, she sketches her characters' subtle predicaments amid the currents of their time. The novel is intricately structured, with multiple threads finally converging into a thought-provoking picture, displaying a depth of thought and narrative control rare in a young writer. For readers concerned with contemporary social change, cultural identity, and the human condition, White Teeth offers a unique literary mirror.

This Shanghai Translation Publishing House edition is excellently translated and preserves the original's linguistic style and literary texture well, making it an ideal way for Chinese readers to encounter this important contemporary writer.

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Reading tips

  1. It helps to first learn about the social and cultural context of late twentieth-century Britain to understand the characters' circumstances
  2. Pay attention to the novel's use of symbolism, such as the multiple meanings of the image of 'white teeth'
  3. Read in comparison with Zadie Smith's later works to observe the development of her creative trajectory

About the publisher

Shanghai Translation Publishing House China · Founded in 1978

Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 致谢
  3. 阿吉 1974，1945
  4. 第一章 阿吉·琼斯的奇特再婚
  5. 第二章 出牙期的烦恼
  6. 第三章 两个家庭
  7. 第四章 三个就要出世
  8. 第五章 阿尔弗雷德·阿吉宝德·琼斯和萨马德·迈阿·伊克巴尔的牙根管
  9. 萨马德 1984，1857
  10. 第六章 萨马德·伊克巴尔面临的诱惑
  11. 第七章 臼齿
  12. 第八章 有丝分裂
  13. 第九章 反叛！
  14. 第十章 曼加尔·潘迪的牙根管
  15. 艾丽 1990，1907
  16. 第十一章 艾丽·琼斯的不当教育
  17. 第十二章 犬齿：松土齿
  18. 第十三章 霍滕丝·鲍登的牙根管
  19. 第十四章 比英国人还像英国人
  20. 第十五章 夏尔芬主义 VS. 鲍登主义
  21. 马吉德、迈勒特、马库斯 1992，1999
  22. 第十六章 马吉德·马哈夫兹·穆谢德·姆布塔希姆·伊克巴尔的归来
  23. 第十七章 危机谈话和紧急策略
  24. 第十八章 历史的终结 VS. 最后一个男人
  25. 第十九章 最终的空间
  26. 第二十章 老鼠与往事

FAQ

What story does White Teeth mainly tell? The novel focuses on two families in London—the white Englishman Archie Jones and the Bangladeshi Muslim Samad Iqbal—and, through their lives and those of their children from the 1970s to the 1990s, explores issues of race, religion, and cultural identity, depicting conflict and fusion in a multicultural society.
What are the characteristics of Zadie Smith's writing style? Smith is known for her keen social observation, rich detail, and humorous yet insightful narration. In White Teeth she demonstrates an ability to combine grand themes with everyday life, in lively and vibrant language.
Is this book suitable for literary researchers? Very much so. As an important work of contemporary British literature, White Teeth is frequently discussed in academia, touching on postcolonial literature, immigrant literature, identity politics, and other research fields, and offers rich material for textual analysis.

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About the author

扎迪·史密斯 Author

Zadie Smith is a contemporary British writer whose work is known for its cross-cultural perspective and keen social observation, and is often categorized as foreign literature. Her representative works include White Teeth, On Beauty, Swing Time, The Fraud, Grand Union and Feel Free, spanning novels, essays and other forms. Because public information is limited, details of her life and education are not available here. Judging from her subject matter, she focuses on multicultural coexistence, identity, family relationships and contemporary urban life; her language is witty and her narratives richly layered, revealing the complex interplay of history and culture within everyday experience. Her work has attracted attention in English-language literary circles and offers Chinese readers an important window into contemporary British society and immigrant experience.

周丹 Author

Zhou Dan, about whom limited public information is available, has written and edited in a wide range of fields, with eight works to date. In political economy, the author published Marx's Value: A Critique of Contemporary Capitalist Political Economy. In the field of personal growth, the focus is on career planning and self-development, with titles such as Plan the Best Version of Yourself: A Global Career Planning Consultant Teaches You to Become the Most Popular Person in the Workplace and Come Prepared: Planning the Best Version of Yourself in the Workplace. Other works include a translation of foreign literature (White Fang), a military classic (On War: The West's Art of War), documentary literature (A Stormy Life, English edition), English language learning (College English Listening and Speaking Training 1), and practical first-aid training (Practical Training Course in On-Site First Aid, 13th Five-Year Plan edition). The writing combines scholarly reflection with practical guidance and addresses a variety of readers.